So far toward our objective 2013…
The time has now come to sum up what has happened in PRIMAR during this first half year 2013.
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30th June 2013, PRIMAR RENC sales are approximatively at the same level as last year. (-1%)
The number of vessels is steadily increasing by about 20 %.
However, the PRIMAR sales are 16 % below the planned budget.
The short licenses are increasing quickly while the 12 months licenses are decreasing. The PAYS
licenses have a strong increase this year.
• Total coverage of 11 341 ENC, an increase of 382 ENCs since the beginning of the year.
The effect of the mandatory carriage of ECDIS is coming slowly. The full effect will come after 2014. We
have been visiting several distributors during this first semester and all of them referred to 2013 as the
year of preparation for 2014.
Earlier this year, PRIMAR had the pleasure to welcome the Islamic Republic of Iran as the new member
of PRIMAR RENC and also a new promising distributor in Brazil.
Our priorities for the second half of 2013 and 2014 will focus on continuous improvement of our tools and
services, increasing ENC coverage, provide support for new IHO standards and conduct distributor
visits.
This short report will give you a status on sales and activities which has been performed.

Have a nice reading!

FREEDOM TO CHOOSE

3

Half year report January to June 2013

New in PRIMAR.
a. New Member
The Islamic Republic of Iran became a new member of the PRIMAR RENC 19. February 2013 .The
Norwegian Hydrographic Service has signed a bilateral agreement with the Ports and Maritime
Organization (PMO) of I R Iran. As a result of signing of this agreement, the Iranian ENCs will be
available through the PRIMAR ENC service.
The Iranian ENCs will at present consist of 120 cells organized in Approach, Harbour and berthing
usage band scales

Back, from the left: Kjell Olsen, former Director of PRIMAR, Ahmad Parhizi, Head of Maritime Safety Operation Department,
Hans Chr. Lauritzen, acting Director of PRIMAR, Sayed Ali Estiri, Vice President for Maritime affairs of the Ports and Maritime
Organization of Iran, and Evert Flier, Director of the Norwegian Hydrographic Service. Photo: Sissel Kanstad/NHS

b. New Distributor
PRIMAR has also the pleasure to welcome a new Distributor CARRIERWEB
www.carrierweb.com
c. New ENC release
Georgia has released a new ENC covering an important part of the Black Sea.
Other new ENCs available: Romania, Cuba and Venezuela

We note a yearly increase of about 20 % - a higher
increase is expected from 2014
e- PRIMAR RENC subscription development

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Decrease of 12 months licenses by 20%.
Decrease of 6 months licenses by 15%.
Increase of 3 months subscriptions by 25%.
PAYS increase by 600 % - is responsible for 8 % of total number of sold ENCs

FREEDOM TO CHOOSE

5

Half year report January to June 2013

Customer Survey 2013
PRIMAR has received the result of the new customer Survey 2013 this was presented during our
distributor seminar in June 2013.
The purpose of the survey was to measure satisfaction, and identify what PRIMAR distributors values
most in relation to PRIMARs products and services.
The questionnaire is based on the survey conducted in 2010, but we have made some changes. In
addition to measuring customer satisfaction, we ask what customers want PRIMAR to focus on in the
next two years. 37 distributors participated in the survey.
The Customer Satisfaction Index

PRIMAR

It is recommended that 70 points is a “critical border”. A score below 70 points indicates that many
customers are not satisfied. PRIMAR scored 80.

Summary of the results
High general satisfaction with PRIMAR all in all
• The general satisfaction is very high and stable with a 80 point score. 83% claimed they are very
satisfied, same as in 2011. There are no distributors on the negative side of the scale
PRIMAR is recognized in the shipping industry as an official electronic chart service
• 76% agree to this statement and that gives a 83 point score
Evaluation services – highs scores, but the PRIMAR Chart catalogue drops
• High satisfaction with Permit Generator and Online Service
• The PRIMAR Chart catalogue drops 9 points
Using PRIMAR’s services more often
• Majority agreed that it is easy to use PRIMAR’s services – but there is a small decline in user
friendliness. There is a potential to get distributors to use PRIMAR services more often
Excellent customer support
• Solid feedback on the support PRIMAR provides
The new PRIMAR licensing model and price
• Most distributors approve the licensing model 17% are negative. The ENC price is OK (70% says
it’s fine).

FREEDOM TO CHOOSE

6

Half year report January to June 2013

Marketing objective and strategy 2013
a. Distributor visit and exhibitions
According to our Marketing Plan the PRIMAR team has visited about 15 distributors so far this year both
at their location and at the exhibitions.
The focus was to reinforce customer loyalty and to improve knowledge of PRIMAR´s product and
services. Information which we gathered helped us identifying needs and trends.
PRIMAR has visited these exhibitions:
Bergen Januar 2013 :

Nor-Shipping is the leading maritime event week. Its top-quality exhibition, high-level conferences
and prime networking opportunities attract the cream of the international maritime industry to Oslo
every other year. The Nor-Shipping delegates are consequently a combination of some 16,300 external
visitors, around 8,000 exhibitor representatives
b. Distributor seminar 2013
The annual PRIMAR Distributor Seminar was held on 19 June in Stavanger. 40 people attended the
seminar, and 13 PRIMAR distributors were represented.
Since last year PRIMAR has focused on the implementation of the new price model, implemented the
distributor’s own page, the PRIMAR Portal, and increased ENC usage and sale in new markets.
Our core aim is to support our partners with flexible, user-friendly, efficient and timely solutions. This
ensures that end users are provided with an ENC service which is recognized for its quality and for its
overall contribution to marine safety and efficiency at a global level. In pursuing this vision, we focus
on giving our partners freedom to choose between a variety of services and solutions. The primary aim

FREEDOM TO CHOOSE

7

Half year report January to June 2013

is to make data available to everyone at a reasonable cost in order to en PRIMARs commitment is to a
diverse marketplace and our core aim is to make ENCs available to everyone.
Below you will find the link to the presentation held during the seminar.
https://www.primar.org/article/-/journal_content/56_INSTANCE_e7O99DWe5JA8/10180/100123
c. Promotion kit
We think that it is of a high importance to support our distributors in their sales of ENC. To do so, we
have implemented a kit which can help in promoting ENC and PRIMAR.
The aim is to simplify their task when they meet customers, when they participate to an exhibition, when
they communicate with the media or when they need to put an advertisement in a magazine.
All material will produced digitally to enable distributors print from their own locations (add, poster,
banner). It will be soon be made available on www.primar.org
The promotion kit has been designed to be used in the following situations:
• Customer meeting
• Advertising
• Internal communication
• Media communication
• Exhibition/ Conference
The kit contains the following material:
• ENC PWP presentation
• Your choices PWP presentation
• Digital Ad
• Digital Banners
• Digital Roll up
• Digital Poster
d. Press kit
PRIMAR has developed a Press kit which has been used to promote PRIMAR to the press at the
different exhibitions. This kit can also be used by distributor. It will soon be made available on
www.primar.org
The kit contains the following documents:
• What is PRIMAR
• What is a RENC
• What is an ENC
• Governing Body and sub-groups
• ENC coverage map
• PRIMAR Members list
• PRIMAR Distributors map
• PRIMAR Contact information
• Pictures and logos
e. Social Media
You can now follow us on TWITTER at the following address
We will publish all public information about:
• New distributors
• New members
• New events
• New exhibitions
• New coverage

FREEDOM TO CHOOSE

@PRIMAR_RENC

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Half year report January to June 2013

f. Innovation and maintenance of PRIMAR product and services
Georgia Training
12th and 13th of June, a successful workshop was conducted in Stavanger with participants from
PRIMAR and the Georgian State Hydrographic Service.
Georgia has been a member of PRIMAR since November 2012. The result of the two days was the
release of the first two Georgian ENCs which were published on the PRIMAR Chart Catalogue, and
thus madeavailable for international shipping.

From left to right we see: Tonje Mevatne (PRIMAR), Stig Osaland (PRIMAR), Svein Skjæveland (PRIMAR),
Hans Christoffer Lauritzen (PRIMAR), Jacek Marek Jagodzinski (PRIMAR), Giorgi Kartvelishvili
(Georgia).
g. Distributor Contract
The new distributor contract is now finalized and is ready to use for coming distributors. The re-signature
process with actual distributors will start in the fall of 2013.